It’s safe to say that Jennifer Kupcho won the Chevron Championship with that Saturday 64 — not her Sunday 74.
Three years ago, almost to the day, Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Her professional shining moment finally came on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Mission Hills Country Club as the LPGA Tour bid farewell to the long-standing site of the season’s first major. Kupcho started the final round with a fat, six-shot lead thanks to her super round on Saturday. She needed most of that big lead.
The former Wake Forest golfer who has struggled at times since turning professional, survived seven bogeys and a final round 74 to make this major her first career win.
She was able to hang on because no one really made a run at her, including defending champion Patty Tavatanakit. The defending champion played with Kupcho but was unable to mount any sort of charge thanks to a balky putter. Instead, it was Jessica Korda who tried to make a run. At one point, after back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14, Kupcho’s lead was down to a mere two strokes. But she fought back with a birdie at the 15th when she hit her approach to two feet. Up ahead, Korda, after a bogey at the 15th, didn’t find another birdie coming home and Kupcho was safe.
With her lead back up to four shots, Kupcho failed to get up-and-down at the par three 17th, made bogey, then three-putted for a closing bogey at 18. In the end, she was able to do what not many have done — win despite a 39 over her final nine holes.
Kupcho’s final winning total was 14-under par — two clear of Korda and three better than Pia Babnik from the Ladies European Tour, who tied for the day’s low round with a closing 66.
Stone Cold Collapse Hands ANWA To Anna Davis:
LSU golfer Latanna Stone had one hand on the Augusta National Women’s Amateur trophy late Saturday afternoon.
Until she didn’t.
Stone birdied the famous par three 16th to go three-under for her round and she had a two-shot lead over 16-year-old Anna Davis from California. Stone was even closer to victory after she planted her tee shot in the right side of the fairway on the tricky par four 17th. Victory looked a matter of three more good swings away.
Then it all went to pieces for the junior from Riverview, Fl.
She swiped her approach to 17 and it landed short and right of the right greenside bunker. From there she hit a clunky pitch that left her ball on the back of the green, 30 feet above the hole. She then left herself a nervous five-footer for par.
Davis was nervously waiting back in the stately clubhouse. She shot a fantastic three-under par 69 that got her in red numbers for the tournament — one-under.
Stone then pulled the bogey putt and her six left her tied with Davis and the difficult, uphill 18th waiting ahead.
Sadly, Stone’s tee shot found the right woods, leaving her with not many options. She did hit a good recovery to just short of the green. It wasn’t a demanding up-and-down situation, but given the pressure, Stone clunked another pitch and left herself with 14 feet for par and a playoff with Davis.
Stone’s par putt didn’t come close — it missed a foot left and teenager Davis had the biggest win of her young life. As the final group walked off 18, Davis was the only player in red numbers.
Stone’s collapse gave her 72 for the round and left her LSU teammate — Ingrid Lindblad — tied for second at even par for the 54-holes.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played in front of that many people,” Davis said after the big win. “I wasn’t as nervous. I knew I was an underdog in the field. I didn’t have as much pressure on me to do extremely well. I was just out there having fun.”
Davis, a high school sophomore, turned 16 on March 17 — ironically, the same birthday as Augusta National founder Bobby Jones.
One Comment
baxter cepeda
It has taken Kupcho a while but it’s not surprising she finally won this time of year. We see certain players play well certain times of the year. This seems to be hers.
Aloha and Ahui Hou to Mission Hills.